Passo di Costalunga / Karerpass - Roda di Vael / Rotwand (via Passo dal Vaiolon)

Access to the starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Drive through the Karavanke Tunnel into Austria, then continue to Spittal and on to Lienz (the motorway ends a little after Spittal). We continue along a relatively nice and wide road through the Drava Valley, which leads us into Itali. The road continues past Dobbiaco/Toblach and Brunico/Bruneck. Just after the last-mentioned town, which is passed by a bypass road, we turn left into the Val Badia valley. Continue along the valley past La Vila and Corvara. Then climb over the Passo Campolongo and Passo Pordoi. From Passo Pordoi, descend to the west side of the valley of Val di Fassa. Just after Pozza di Fassa, turn right towards the Passo di Costalunga / Karerpass. A few hundred metres before the pass, park in a large parking lot called "Valate". The parking lot is on the right hand side of the road.

From the coastal side: From Nova Gorica, exit into Itali and follow the motorway to Venice / Venezia. At Portogruaro, leave the motorway towards Venice and turn right on the motorway towards Pordenone. At the next motorway junction near Conegliano, turn right towards Belluno. Follow the motorway until you reach the exit for Belluno. When you leave the motorway, you come to a large roundabout, which you leave at the exit for Belluno and Feltre. At the small roundabout in Belluno, turn right towards Agordo. Follow this road until Moena in the Val di Fassa. At Moena, turn right towards Canazei, but only as far as Vigo di Fassa, where you turn left towards the Passo di Costalunga / Karerpass. A few hundred metres before the pass, park in a large parking lot called "Valate". The parking lot is on the right hand side of the road.

Path description:
From the parking lot, take the narrow cart track after the "Rifugio Roda di Vael" signs. Cart track initially climbs through the forest and soon leads to a marked crossroads. A path branches off to the left towards Rifugio Paolina, and we continue to the right towards Rifugio Roda di Vael.
We continue along the cart track, which climbs mostly through the forest, occasionally opening up views towards the Latemar mountain group. Higher up, the path leads out of the forest to pastures which also open up views to the south.
At mountain pasture, where there is also a shepherd's hut, cart track ends, and we continue along the footpath, which continues eastwards. The path then turns slightly to the left and starts to climb a little steeper up the slopes, which become more and more scenic. Soon we will see the huts of Rifugio Roda di Vael and Baita Marino Pederiva ahead of us, which are only a short climb away. Just before the huts, the path from Rifugio Paolina joins us on the left.
From the hut, continue north along the 541 following the signs "Passo-Jouf dal Vaiolon". The path from the hut crosses the slopes on the eastern side of the Roda di Vael peak for some time and leads to a marked crossroads.
The path branches off to the right towards the Passo Zigolade saddle, and we continue to the left towards the Passo dal Vaiolon saddle. After the fork, the path soon turns to the right and ascends crosswise towards the ravine on the west side of Mugoni Peak. The path then climbs through a ravine where it becomes a little steeper. As there is quite a bit of rubble in the gully, a little caution is needed. From the ravine the path leads us to again less steep slopes on which we come to another this time slightly less marked crossroads.
To the right the path leads to the Passo dei Mugoni saddle, while we continue sharp left towards the Passo dal Vaiolon saddle. The path then descends slightly and then crosses a steep slope to the aforementioned saddle.
At the saddle, where the path from the Rifugio Paolina hut joins the gully on our right, we continue slightly left towards the summit of Roda da Vael. The path from the saddle becomes more difficult and is protected by a cable. The trail continues to climb steeply along the steel cable and follows or follows the northern ridge of the mountain. As you climb along the ridge, you have a magnificent view of the surrounding peaks, and in the last part of the route you have a view of the whole Catinaccio mountain group and the Sella and Marmolada mountain groups. Just below the summit, the path follows the ridge to the right and there is only a short climb to the top, where a large cross stands.
Descend either by the ascent route or by the route that runs along the south side of the mountain. The route on the south side is slightly more difficult than the one described above, which follows the north ridge.

On the way: Baita Marino Pederiva (2275m), Rifugio Roda di Vael (2280m), Passo Vaiolon (2560m)

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